How to read these examples
Every entry uses the same structure, so you can copy it straight into your own journal:
- Plan, written before entry: setup, direction, entry, stop, target, size.
- Result, written after exit: actual prices, P&L and R-multiple.
- Review: followed plan (yes or no) and one specific note.
The trades are invented for teaching; the tickers are placeholders and nothing here is a suggestion to trade anything. Fees are left out to keep the arithmetic easy to follow, but your real journal should include them. If you want the column layout for a spreadsheet, see the trading journal spreadsheet page; for the reasoning behind each field, see what to write in a trading journal.
Two formulas do all the work. Position size = (account × risk %) ÷ |entry − stop|, rounded down. R-multiple = (exit − entry) ÷ (entry − stop).
Example 1: a winning long that went to plan
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Date / symbol | Monday, stock XYZ |
| Setup | Breakout |
| Direction | Long |
| Planned entry / stop / target | $50.00 / $48.00 / $54.00 |
| Risk | 1% of $20,000 = $200 |
| Size | $200 ÷ $2.00 = 100 shares |
| Reward to risk | $4.00 ÷ $2.00 = 2:1 |
| Actual exit | $54.00 (target) |
| P&L | 100 × $4.00 = +$400 |
| R-multiple | ($54.00 − $50.00) ÷ ($50.00 − $48.00) = +2.0R |
| Followed plan | Yes |
| Note | Entered on the close above the range, not the first poke. Wanted to sell at +1R; the written target kept me in. |
What makes this a good entry: the note records a temptation you resisted and the rule that helped. In a few months, a column of notes like this tells you whether early exits are a habit. Check the numbers yourself with the R-multiple calculator.
Example 2: a losing short with slippage
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Date / symbol | Wednesday, stock ABC |
| Setup | Failed breakout |
| Direction | Short |
| Planned entry / stop / target | $120.00 / $123.00 / $114.00 |
| Risk | 0.5% of $20,000 = $100 (smaller size: earnings next week) |
| Size | $100 ÷ $3.00 = 33.3, rounded down to 33 shares (actual risk $99) |
| Actual exit | $123.40, stop order filled 40 cents past the stop on a fast move |
| P&L | 33 × ($120.00 − $123.40) = −$112.20 |
| R-multiple | ($123.40 − $120.00) ÷ ($120.00 − $123.00) = 3.40 ÷ −3.00 = −1.13R |
| Followed plan | Yes |
| Note | Plan was fine; stop sat just above a round number where many orders cluster. Loss was 0.13R larger than planned because the stop filled 40 cents past its price. |
What makes this a good entry: it separates a planned loss from slippage. A loss of exactly −1R is the system working. Losses that keep landing beyond −1R point to stop placement or order type; if that pattern shows up, read our guide to stop loss vs stop limit orders.
Note how the R formula handles a short: the stop is above the entry, so the denominator is negative, and a price that rises against you produces a negative R. No special case is needed.
Example 3: a long call option
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Date / symbol | Thursday, call option on stock DEF |
| Setup | Pullback |
| Position | Buy 2 contracts at $2.50 premium (×100 multiplier) |
| Cost | 2 × $2.50 × 100 = $500 |
| Stop | Exit if premium falls to $1.50 |
| Risk | 2 × ($2.50 − $1.50) × 100 = $200, 1% of the account |
| Actual exit | $3.10 premium, sold before the target |
| P&L | 2 × ($3.10 − $2.50) × 100 = +$120 |
| R-multiple | ($3.10 − $2.50) ÷ ($2.50 − $1.50) = +0.6R |
| Followed plan | No |
| Note | Sold early because the stock stalled at lunch. Plan said hold to target or stop. A win, but a rule break. |
What makes this a good entry: it marks a winning trade as "followed plan: no". That honesty is the point. If you only flag losing rule breaks, your data will say rule breaks always hurt, which is not true and not useful.
Two options details matter. First, the ×100 multiplier: forgetting it understates your risk a hundredfold. Second, the stop here is on the premium. You can define it on the underlying stock instead, but write down which one you used, and keep it the same for every trade in that setup. The options trading journal guide covers multi-leg positions.
What the three entries add up to
| Trade | Setup | P&L | R | Followed plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Long XYZ | Breakout | +$400.00 | +2.00 | Yes |
| 2. Short ABC | Failed breakout | −$112.20 | −1.13 | Yes |
| 3. Calls on DEF | Pullback | +$120.00 | +0.60 | No |
| Total | +$407.80 | +1.47 | 2 of 3 |
Three trades prove nothing about any setup, and a good week can follow a bad process (trade 3) just as a bad week can follow a good one. What the table does show is how a journal makes trades of different sizes and instruments comparable. In dollars, trade 1 looks over three times better than trade 3. In R, it is over three times better too, but now you know it is a like-for-like comparison and not just a bigger position.
Once you have weeks of rows like these, total them per setup and compute profit factor and expectancy. The profit factor calculator and our weekly review guide show how.
Copy this blank template
Paste this into a note, a spreadsheet row or a notebook page for each trade:
Date / symbol:Setup:Direction:long / shortPlanned entry / stop / target:Risk ($) and size:Actual entry / exit:Fees:Net P&L:R-multiple:Followed plan:yes / noNote (one specific sentence):
The plan lines take under a minute before the trade. The result lines are the tedious part; a journal app that imports fills from your broker can fill these columns for you. TradeGreen does this read-only from 20+ brokers and computes R per trade, leaving you the setup name and the note. If you prefer to do it by hand, the position size calculator handles the sizing line.
Common mistakes these examples avoid
- Missing stop. Without it there is no R, so example 2's slippage would be invisible.
- Hiding winning rule breaks. Example 3 would usually be logged as a plain win.
- Mixing instruments in dollars. R puts stock and options trades on one scale.
- Vague notes. Each note above names an action you could repeat or avoid next time.
For the routine that keeps entries like these coming every day, see how to keep a trading journal.